A stemless wafer ball valve comprising: a first flange; a second flange; a ball; two ball seals; a guide sleeve; an inner housing; an inner magnetic cartridge comprising a plurality of inner magnets; an outer housing comprising a plurality of outer magnets; two axis pins; and two travel pins;wherein the ball lies between the first and second flanges with a ball seal on either side of the ball;wherein the axis pins each comprises a first end and a second end, and the first end of each axis pin is fixedly attached to the ball;wherein the second end of one of the two axis pins is lodged into a notch in the first flange and the second end of the other axis pin is lodged into a notch in the second flange;wherein the inner housing lies between the inner magnetic cartridge and the outer magnets of the outer housing;wherein the first and second flanges are fixedly attached to the inner housing;wherein a handle is attached to the outer housing, and when the handle is turned, the outer magnets of the outer housing cause the inner magnetic cartridge to rotate in the same direction as the handle;wherein the guide sleeve is fixedly attached to the inner magnetic cartridge such that when the inner magnetic cartridge rotates, the guide sleeve also rotates;wherein the guide sleeve surrounds the ball and comprises two channels;wherein the travel pins each comprises a first end and a second end, and the first end of each travel pin is fixedly attached to the ball;wherein the second end of one of the travel pins is situated in one of the channels in the guide sleeve, and the second end of the other travel pin is situated in the other channel in the guide sleeve;wherein as the guide sleeve rotates, the travel pins move up and down within the channels in the guide sleeve, thereby causing the ball to rotate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to incorporate accepted and proven ball valve sealing technology into a stemless valve design that can be used to control fluids. Between fifty and seventy percent of all valve maintenance is associated with packing or mechanical seal failure on valve stems; therefore, it is a further object to provide a valve that avoids this maintenance by eliminating the valve stem entirely while still providing a high level of fluid control.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a stemless wafer ball valve comprising: two flanges; and a ball with a channel, two axis pins and two travel pins; wherein one end of each of the axis pins and one end of each of the travel pins are fixedly attached to the ball; wherein one end of one of the axis pins is lodged into a notch in the first flange, one end of the other axis pin is lodged into a notch in the second flange, and both axis pins are allowed to rotate within the notches in the flanges; wherein the guide sleeve comprises two channels, one end of one of the travel pins is situated within one of the two channels in the guide sleeve, and one end of the other travel pin is situated within the other channel in the guide sleeve; wherein an outer magnetic cartridge causes the inner magnetic cartridge and guide sleeve to rotate; wherein when the guide sleeve rotates, the travel pins move up and down within the channels in the guide sleeve; and wherein the movement of the travel pins within the channels in the guide sleeve causes the ball to rotate, thereby opening and closing the wafer ball valve.